Movies: Milk
Okay. Wow. Every bit as awesome as everybody said it was. Sean Penn's performance was remarkable. And that kid who played Green Goblin Jr. Was adorable as his long-term BF.
As is popular in biopics these days, Harvey Milk's not-so-great qualities were shown along with his outstanding ones. Like most poeple who are passionately driven by a cause, he could be something of an asshole, and he sometimes neglected his personal life, friends and lovers. But y'know, the guy was a true American hero.
I bitch and moan about the way gays are treated now, and indeed, they are treated quite shabbily in most parts of the country. I still can't wrap my head around people who are somehow threatened by gay marriage. But the way they were treated and talked about in the mainstream media in the early 70's--well, they were treated as subhuman. Unbelievable.
I know there's still a long, long way to go, but people like HM threw themselves directly in front of the cultural bus to gain what advances have been made. That kind of courage is kind of jaw-dropping.
Bonus--cute guys snogging.
So I'm telling my mom how great this movie is, and how vitriolic and evil Anita Bryant was toward gays. She helpfully reminded me that when I was four years old, my favorite song was "Little Orange Bird," by Anita Bryant. "But that was before she was picking on gay people," mom added. "She was just hawking orange juice for Disney."
THANKS FOR THE MEMORIES, MOM! I feel like I need to pop my soul out and and scrub it.